Verdict: While it certainly won’t be for everyone, this
charming little romance-infused comedy/drama works as well as you might expect.
With an all-star cast
playing immensely likable characters, a keenly-observed screenplay by Ms Cross
(Whip It) and Ms Hach (Freaky
Friday) from Ms Murkoff’s
bestseller, and a steady hand from Mr Jones (Nanny McPhee, Everybody's Fine), this charming little romantic comedy/drama works
on every level.
Continuing the trend of
recent films such as Valentine’s Day (2010), five individual stories are interwoven into a broad, sweeping
canvas about the perils of impending parenthood. Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) is great as Wendy Cooper,
the owner of The Breast Choice Boutique – and her late-stage pregnancy-inspired
meltdown at a Baby Expo that goes viral on YouTube is comedy at its finest.
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air) and Chace Crawford (Gossip
Girl) provide the youthful,
passionate drama of a complicated relationship perfectly, while Cameron Diaz
proves yet again that she can do practically anything with her pitch-perfect
performance as the independent host of a reality television weight loss program
who learns to accept that she can’t do everything on her own.
Jennifer Lopez (The
Wedding Planner, Monster-in-Law, The Back-up Plan) is in fine form as the hard-working Holly who,
along with her partner Alex (Rodrigo Santoro), are nervously anticipating being
accepted as adoptive parents of an Ethiopian orphan. The scenes in the
Ethiopian orphanage will melt the hardest of hearts, as will an unexpectedly
dramatic development for one of the characters in childbirth.
While it certainly won’t
move or delight everyone, What to Expect When You’re Expecting is an involving and entertaining little film that,
wisely, balances all of its attendant romance, comedy and drama almost
perfectly.
This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.
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